Unknown 9: Awakening developer Reflector Entertainment has announced they’ve been acquired by Bandai Namco Europe.
Bandai Namco has acquired the Montreal-based developer alongside their recently announced game Unknown 9: Awakening from Lune Rouge Innovation, as part of their new strategy to develop 50% of their games outside of Japan.
“Designing and developing the content we shall publish and distribute is the cornerstone of our strategy.” said Arnaud Muller, COO of BNEE. “The creative vision and development capacity of Reflector Entertainment will boost BNEE’s ability to craft breathtaking experiences over the years. We look forward to working with such a skilled team, and to welcome them to the BNE family.”
“The reach to worldwide audiences and the endless entertainment possibilities offered by the synergies with BNEE and the rest of the group will provide a great long-term perspective for the team, here in Montreal” commented Alexandre Amancio.
He added, “We believe this acquisition will enable Reflector Entertainment to deepen its transmedia vision to build amazing journeys, while expanding on the work already done on the Unknown 9 franchise and other projects,” said Robert Blain, President of Lune Rouge. “BNEE has an amazing team in place and their skills and knowledge of the industry will guarantee Reflector Entertainment a brilliant future.”
The transaction is set to close sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. Following the closing of the acquisition, Alexandre Amancio will become Chief Creative Officer of Reflector Entertainment and will operate alongside Hervé Hoerdt, Vice President of Content, Marketing and Digital at BNEE, who will manage the transition as CEO.
Here’s a rundown on Unknown 9: Awakening:
Unknown 9: Awakening, a 3rd person narrative-driven action-adventure game, with a first look at its protagonist, Haroona, and a glimpse into her Fold abilities.
Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India and haunted by visions of her own death, Haroona struggles to understand her
mysterious innate abilities to manipulate the unseen. A mentor soon helps Haroona hone her gifts, teaches her to access
the mysterious hidden dimension known as The Fold and propels her on a journey to unlock the mysteries of this new
realm.“Unknown 9: Awakening is Reflector’s first game. It’s a passion project being undertaken by a small team of industry
veterans that want to do things differently,” says Alexandre Amancio, CEO at Reflector Entertainment. “Our game
features a complex heroine that must come to terms with who she is. The game is set in the Unknown 9 universe, a modern
Storyworld that centers on humanity being on the edge of either transcendence or self-destruction.”
Source: Press Release
